by Marie Astor
Jake shook his head. If he were not careful, reminisces and regrets could swallow up the whole day. Hell, he had enough of both to swallow up years. He checked his watch; it was time to greet the new recruits.
Chapter 10
Ally stepped off the bus and surveyed her surroundings. From watching the highway signs during the drive she knew that they were at the far end of Connecticut. The parking lot was surrounded with lush greenery. Several low-slung buildings comprised the compound: this could’ve been a bed and breakfast or a camping facility, but it wasn’t.
One by one the recruits filed out of the bus, breaking into small cliques that had formed during the bus ride. Their luggage had been unloaded next to the bus, but no one touched theirs, awaiting further instructions. Ally stood aloof, hoping that she wasn’t looking like an outcast. First impressions were important, and she was keenly aware that she wasn’t exactly succeeding in that department. Heather Darlington, the girl who had sat next to Ally during the bus ride, had ignored Ally the entire time, chatting instead with the two guys who sat across the aisle. Ally could have tried to join in, but she chose to spend the ride looking out the window instead. She wasn’t here to make friends anyway.
From overhearing bits and pieces of conversation during the drive, Ally had learned that most of the recruits had backgrounds similar to her own. They too had graduated from top schools and had excellent GPAs. However there was one major difference: unlike her they hadn’t had their family’s legacy destroyed and their name dragged through the mud. And, most importantly, from the confident and almost cocky manner in which they conducted themselves, she intuited that none of them were orphans. Orphan. It felt surreal to think that this terrifying word now described her, but it did and she had to toughen up and accept it.
“Good morning, team.” A deep male voice brought them all to attention. “Welcome. I am Jake Morrissey and you may address me as Instructor Morrissey. I will be one of your instructors during your stay here.”
Ally focused her attention on the speaker. He wasn't anything she expected a training instructor to be. He looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties. Six feet tall, with his muscular and trim body, he looked more like a model for GQ Magazine than a training instructor for an undercover agency. Not that Ally cared: as far as she was concerned she was off men indefinitely.
“Real work will begin tomorrow,” Morrissey continued. “You will have a busy schedule, so I suggest you use today to get settled and organized. As I call out your name, come up front to pick up your room assignment and orientation package.”
One by one Ally’s teammates were called. Jake shook their hands and handed them their assignment folders.
“Allyson Roberts.”
At the sound of her name Ally felt her knees tremble. She braced herself and walked towards Morrissey in what she hoped was a steady step.
“Welcome aboard, Allyson,” Jake Morrissey greeted her with an extended hand.
“Ally, everyone calls me Ally,” Ally blurted out as Jake’s warm, firm hand closed around hers.
A faint smile appeared on his lips. “Glad to have you aboard, Ally,” he said, his gray eyes locking with hers for one electrifying moment. “You’re in building C,” he added matter-of-factly.
“Thanks.” Ally grabbed the folder from him and hurried after the rest of the recruits. She could feel her face burning. Everyone calls me Ally? What the hell was she thinking? This wasn’t everyone, for crying out loud. This was her training instructor.
Once she reached her building, Ally walked up the flight of stairs leading to her floor and headed down the corridor to her assigned room. She swiped the electronic key she found inside the folder. After hearing the click of the lock mechanism, she pushed the door open and stepped inside. It looked just like a dorm room: gray carpet, two twin beds, a chest of drawers, two computer desks on either side of the room, and a small stand with a coffee maker on it.
There was a light rapping on the door. Ally turned around and saw the redhead who had been the last to arrive at the training. Her name was as striking as her looks: Delilah.
“Hi! It’s Ally, right?”
Ally nodded. “Yes. And you’re Delilah. I remember.”
“I’m so glad we’re going to be roommates!” Delilah exclaimed, dropping her bag to the floor. “The rest of the people in this place are so full of themselves. I tried talking to my neighbor on the bus, the guy with the glasses—Chip Gaffney is his name. All I got back were yes and no answers. The guy must think he’s too blueblood to talk to the likes of me.”
“Maybe he’s just shy,” Ally offered, reluctant to form opinions on her first day.
“I doubt it. I can tell a blueblood when I see one.”
“How?” Ally asked, wondering if in her previous life she had qualified as a blueblood. Probably not. Her father had made his own fortune, so she wouldn’t have qualified. But Ron definitely fit the bill. Come to think of it, Ron looked a lot like Chip. Ron was much better looking, but he had the same bearing and the same quiet, overly polite demeanor. Delilah probably wouldn’t like Ron either, not that it mattered. Ron was history and it was time to stop thinking about him.
“Oh, there are ways,” Delilah replied vaguely. “So, how about we unpack?” She turned to examine the room. “I must say, when they said that the accommodations would be basic, they meant it.” Her glance fell on the chest of drawers. “You’ve got to be kidding me! Only one chest of drawers?”
“You can have an extra drawer if you’d like,” Ally offered. She had packed a simple wardrobe of jeans, khakis and no-frill knit tops, figuring that a fancy wardrobe wasn’t going to score her any extra points at this place. In fact, it would probably do the opposite.
“Thanks, but that wouldn’t be right. There are four drawers, so we each get two,” said Delilah. “I guess we’d better get to it then. That Morrissey guy said that today was our day to get organized. Everyone is so uptight here.” Delilah sighed. “At least that Jake Morrissey guy is pretty hot, don’t you think?”
“I don’t think we’re supposed to think about him in those terms since he’s going to be our instructor,” Ally countered, feeling like a complete hypocrite. Jake Morrissey was incredibly hot, but if she were going to succeed in this program, she couldn’t afford to be distracted.
“Oh, please, don’t deny it. I saw the way you looked at him.”
“What? How did I look at him?”
“You know, girl in awe kind of look. Calm down—just because I picked up on it doesn’t mean that everyone else did. I’ve got an eye for that sort of thing.”
“If you say so.” Ally shrugged, opening her suitcase. She began to place her clothes into one of the drawers. Talking about Jake Morrissey was the last thing she needed right now. She was going to unpack quickly, read through the orientation folder, and go to bed early for a fresh start tomorrow.
“How about a drink?” Delilah held up a quart of tequila. “It’s a shame we don’t have any limes.”
“How did you get that in here? They said alcohol isn’t allowed. What if someone sees us?”
“There are ways. There are always ways.” Delilah grinned and took a swig. She offered the bottle to Ally. “Here, it’ll calm your nerves.”
Chapter 11
Ally shot up in bed at the loud sound of the alarm clock. She had a blasting headache and for a moment she couldn’t remember where she was. Then it all came back to her: she was at the agency training facility and today was the first day of the training. Instead of following through with her intention of going to bed early, she had stayed up last night drinking tequila with her roommate. Ally glanced at the twin bed across from hers. Delilah’s arm was dangling off the bed and her head was planted on the pillow, her half-open mouth making snoring noises while bits of saliva dribbled out of the corner.
“Wake up, Delilah!” Ally called over her shoulder as she made her way to the shower.
She ran the water and stood under the ice-c
old spray, forcing herself not to flinch. After about a minute she switched the water to hot and then back to cold. After about ten minutes of this she was feeling like herself again. She toweled off, brushed her teeth, and hurried to get dressed. Back in the room she saw that Delilah was still in bed.
“Time to get up!” Ally shook Delilah’s shoulder while simultaneously reaching for the hair dryer.
“What time is it?” Delilah groaned.
“Almost seven thirty. Our first class starts at eight. You don’t want to be late on your first day.” Ally turned on the hair dryer.
“As if I care. Turn off that thing!” Delilah grimaced at the noise, but Ally ignored her. Delilah swung her legs over the bed’s edge. “They didn’t tell me that getting up this early was part of the deal.” Shakily she began to make her way to the bathroom.
Twenty minutes later Ally and Delilah were rushing down the stairs. Ally quickly examined their schedule. Their first class of the day was located in building A. From the map that had been included with the schedule, Ally understood building A to be on the opposite side of the compound from their dorm.
“Coffee. I need coffee and breakfast,” Delilah mumbled through a yawn.
“There’s no time. The cafeteria is out of the way. We won’t make it,” Ally replied sensibly. “Chew on this,” she added, offering Delilah a stick of gum.
Delilah pushed Ally’s arm away. “No thanks. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting breakfast.”
Ally was about to refuse, but a sudden wave of nausea made her reconsider. A cup of coffee would be nice, and if they walked really fast they could make it in time.
A few moments later Ally and Delilah entered the cafeteria. On their way in they were shoved aside by three recruits who were on their way out.
“Watch where you’re going!” Delilah hissed.
“I’m sure they just didn’t see us,” Ally said, trying to soothe her combative roommate.
“Yeah, right.” Delilah made a beeline to the buffet. The skillets with bacon and eggs were all cleaned out, leaving them with only a choice of oatmeal or cottage cheese.
“Couldn’t we order something to go?” Delilah asked.
“I don’t think so. Let’s just get some coffee and go.” Ally hurried to the coffee station and started to pour two cups of coffee. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a dish with muffins and felt her stomach grumble.
“I’ll grab us a couple of those,” Delilah said, following Ally’s gaze.
“Allyson, Delilah, good morning.” A male voice sent shivers down Ally’s back.
“Instructor Morrissey, good morning.” Ally smiled, gripping the two cups of coffee so tightly she worried the contents might spill over.
“I see you have your hands full, Ms. Roberts,” Morrissey remarked. He checked his watch. “As I recall the first class starts in precisely three minutes. A word of advice: Instructor Reed doesn’t approve of tardiness.”
“Oh,” Ally blundered, unable to think of anything intelligent to say.
“Come on, Ally. Let’s get moving!” Delilah tugged at Ally’s sleeve. “Thanks for the tip, Instructor Morrissey.”
***
Jake Morrissey suppressed a smile as he watched the two women rush out of the cafeteria. He hoped they were going to make it to class on time. Even though it had been what felt like an eternity ago, he still remembered with crisp freshness the way Instructor Reed had chastised Jake on his first day when he had made the mistake of being late for Reed’s class. As a recruit, Jake used to hate the man, and now they were colleagues. Not that Reed had gotten any friendlier because of it. “Those who can’t do, teach,” Reed had jeered when Jake had arrived at the compound in his new capacity. “I thought teaching was the real thing?” Jake had replied good-naturedly. He knew only too well the cause of Reed’s remark, and in a way Jake was flattered that Reed had remembered their altercation from all those years ago when, as a fresh recruit, Jake had lost his temper and spat the very same phrase in Reed’s face. If Reed had reported him, Jake was sure he would’ve been discharged from the program. Thankfully the conversation had taken place without any witnesses. For whatever reason Reed had held his peace, which made him a decent man in Jake’s eyes after all. The fact that Reed had made Jake’s life hell while the training lasted came with the territory.
Jake’s thoughts drifted back to the two young women. Allyson Roberts and Delilah Jones—what an odd pair. He wondered about the reasons these two were assigned as roommates. There were no random variables. Every aspect of the training program, from room assignments to training course content, had a deliberate purpose. He was curious to see how these two were going to do in the program. From what he had gathered from their files, both women had valuable skills, albeit in different areas. He had no doubt that Allyson Roberts would ace the theory part of the training: her GPA score and internship experience proved that she had excellent knowledge of the energy industry. However, substantive knowledge wasn’t enough to succeed in the program, and Jake wasn’t sure that she had what it took to succeed in the behavioral skills part of the program. Delilah Jones, on the other hand, would have no problems with that part. She didn’t have a degree in engineering or physics, but she had what could easily be called the equivalent of a doctorate in human psyche, specifically male psyche. She hadn’t obtained this knowledge from a university, but the education she’d received from the school of life could rival that of any top school. Perhaps these two could help one another after all, Jake thought. Ally was shy—
He instantly cut off his trail of thought. To him she was Allyson Roberts, just another recruit in a group of fifteen candidates, who either was or was not going to make it through the next three months. It was only natural for an instructor to assess a student’s strengths and weaknesses, so he was simply doing his job. At least that was what he desperately wanted to believe. Of course he knew that he was being a hypocrite; he would be a liar if he didn’t admit that Allyson Roberts had commanded his attention the minute she stepped off the bus. And it wasn’t just her looks. There were plenty of good-looking, smart women in the program, but Ally stood apart from all of them. It was the way she carried herself: she seemed so vulnerable, making a man want to take care of her. Jake shook his head. If he weren’t in a public place, he would’ve slapped himself. Vulnerable? Making a man want to take care of her? What the hell had gotten into him? His second day on the job and he was already messing it up. Of course Allyson Roberts seemed vulnerable; he had read her file and anyone who’d been through what she’d been though would be vulnerable, but it was no concern of his. The only conclusion he would allow himself to make was that Recruit Roberts better toughen up soon, or she wasn’t going to make it through the program.
***
“Someone’s got a crush on Jake Morrissey,” Delilah teased Ally as they zoomed through the hallway of building A.
“I don’t have a crush on him!” Ally shot back, picking up her pace. The classroom was only a few steps away. “We’re going to be late! I told you there was no time for breakfast.”
“Relax! It’s only a few minutes.” Delilah gobbled another piece of the muffin they’d taken from the cafeteria and shoved the rest into her purse.
Ally took a deep breath as she reached for the classroom door. It was only eight ten; perhaps Instructor Reed was going to let this one slide. She pushed the door open and walked inside with Delilah following her. Instructor Reed was standing at the head of the class, writing something on the board. Hoping that their entrance would go unnoticed, Ally hurried towards the two seats in the back of the class with Delilah following her. Just as the two of them were about to sit down, Instructor Reed turned around.
“I see we have new arrivals,” Reed observed. He looked exactly like his name: tall and thin. He had sparse gray hair, which was cropped closely to his head. His eyes were small, but were piercing in their intensity. “Please introduce yourselves to the class.”
“Delilah Jones,” Delil
ah announced, sliding into her seat.
“I didn’t say you could sit down, Ms. Jones,” Reed remarked sharply. “And what is your friend’s name?”
From the warmth that suffused her face, Ally knew that her cheeks were now crimson. Oh how she wished she hadn’t listened to Delilah this morning, or last night for that matter. “Allyson Roberts,” she croaked. “I’m sorry we’re late, Instructor Reed. We got lost on our way here.”
“The reason for your tardiness does not interest me, Ms. Roberts. I will ask you to be on time for the rest of our classes, or you will learn the hard way that I don’t take kindly to tardiness. You may both take your seats now.” Reed nodded.
“Jeez, we got the message already,” Delilah whispered, plopping into her chair.
“Is there something you’d like to share with the class, Ms. Jones?” Reed asked.
“Not particularly,” Delilah muttered under Reed’s burrowing stare.
“Well then, perhaps you could start off the discussion of today’s topic.” Reed pointed at the header on the board: Strategic Energy Suppliers. “Would you be so kind as to name the top ten national energy suppliers?”
Delilah’s mouth gaped open as she stared back mutely.